The Boy Can’t Help It

I’m living in a pop trash movie

We star together in every scene

We’ll all be famous for those fifteen minutes

Part of a celluloid dream

We star in every scene

And it’s never quite what it seems

~~ “Pop Trash Movie” by Duran Duran

My, my, what an interesting week it’s been in politics!

Not only did Hillary set a masterful trap at the debate Monday night (I loved this quote from ABC’s Rich Klein: “She set traps that snapped so hard that they continue to reverberate, right through her opponent’s Tweets.”) Trump continued to take the bait the entire week. Instead of just shutting his pie hole and letting the story of Alicia Machado die down, he went on a late-night Twitter rant that made him look absolutely unhinged. And on a Friday, so that the story would carry over into the weekend!

He finally caught a bit of a break, although a dubious one. Alec Baldwin’s take on Trump on the season premiere of SNL had everyone talking, and then the New York Times put out a story about his tax returns that show that he could very well have not paid any federal taxes for a couple of decades. He still isn’t releasing his returns, so it seems pretty obvious that there is really, really bad stuff in them. But what I found even more interesting about that story was that apparently he claimed losses of over $900 million. This guy is supposed to be some kind of financial genius? That doesn’t seem very genius-like to me!

What I found astounding about his behavior is that he played right into Hillary’s hands—again. He has the impulse control of a toddler. He cannot keep himself from lashing out against anyone who he feels has wronged him. It’s one thing when it’s against a former beauty queen or another political candidate, but imagine how he would react to affronts or snubs from leaders of other nations. It’s a chilling thought. All the more fodder for Hillary, though. One of her main narratives is that he is unfit for the presidency. He proved that beyond a shadow of a doubt this week. I don’t doubt that she’ll bait him again in the next debate. He’ll take it, too.

On a brighter note, on Thursday we headed downtown for the annual Democratic Gala, the dinner formerly known as Jefferson-Jackson (TDFKAJJ). It’s maybe our third time attending and while it’s a fundraiser for the Democratic party, it’s also a great time to get fired up about the local, state, and national races. Our Mayor Pete Buttigieg was there, of course, and we also heard from Susan Bayh, an impressive Christina Hale (running for Lieutenant Governor alongside John Gregg), an equally impressive Lynn Coleman, who is running against our Congresscritter, Jackie Walorski, and a few others.

The keynote speaker was Governor Martin O’Malley of Maryland, who also ran in the Democratic primary this election cycle. I was so impressed. We spoke to him before the speeches started and he was kind and approachable and just generally pretty laid back and cool. We talked a little Indiana politics, but we didn’t take up too much of his time as others were waiting to meet him and speak with him. His speech was fantastic and he really got people fired up! At one point, he started laying into Trump, took his suit jacket off, flung it on the stage, and rolled up his shirtsleeves. It was an impressive piece of political display! After the speech, we went up to shake his hand again and tell him what a fun speech it was, and he remembered my name. I was astounded. “That was a great speech, Governor!” “Thank you, Beth!” The guy has mad political skills, no doubt about it.

If he decides to run again in the future, I may very well be on board. Ken asked him if he was hoping for a cabinet post in a Hillary White House and he kind of shrugged it off in an affable way, saying he’s just working to get her elected. He was great and he has a new fan! (If he’d been the Democratic nominee, I would have happily voted for him.)

Another fun part of the evening was the silent auction. We bid on a few things and ended up winning only one, but what a one it was! There was a painting up for auction and I recognized the style immediately. The artist, Erin Warner, is the same one who painted one of my favorites we have, “Wicked.” (I admired it in South Bend Brew Werks and was sad when it was gone. Turns out that Ken bought it for me for Christmas!) This one is called “Anywhere But Inbetween” and I love it! It makes me think of jaws and bones and teeth...very Walking Dead-ish to me. We hung Skelly by it and I think he approves, too.

We were watching the silent auction very closely and kept an eye on people who seemed interested in it. I guess it’s not everyone’s style, although I love it, because we got it for such a low price that we added $15 to our bid even after we won the painting. Support your local businesses, musicians, and artists!

So I guess it was a bad week for Trump and a pretty good one for me. All in all, I’m okay with that balance.